


Happiness Would be Lost Without You

by TheWriter2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Mutual Pining, just two dorks who are in love, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 10:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10462815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriter2/pseuds/TheWriter2
Summary: Keith doesn’t think he’s the type of person to fall in love easily.But when he looks at Lance--Lance who seems like everything Keith isn’t--he starts to think that maybe falling in love with Lance would be easy.It would be so easy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i've been trying to write another klance fic for ages and nothing has flowed onto the page as easily as this has. honestly, i've had this idea in my head for a while and i'm kinda glad at the way it's turned out. i mean it's kinda a mess, but hopefully it's a good, warm mess. i hope you guys enjoy!!

“You excited?” Shiro asked, squeezing Keith’s shoulder reassuringly as they stood before the Garrison. 

Keith shrugged, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “I guess so? I mean first year is just standard training, right?”

Shiro nodded. “But it’s also the start of your journey towards becoming a pilot.”

Keith felt something contract in his chest. “Right,” he said through clenched teeth, “the journey towards my dream.”

“That’s the spirit,” Shiro said, slapping Keith on the back. Keith shot him an annoyed look that Shiro just smiled at. “Go on, you’ll be great,” he said. 

Keith nodded and waved at Shiro. He stepped forward into the crowds of people that he’d spend the next year with. That thing in his chest tightened again as he took in the facility. He curled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking. 

Suddenly, another body crashed into him. Keith stumbled forward, catching himself before he fell. “Sorry!” the boy who’d bumped into him said cheerfully. 

“You’re fine,” Keith replied, dusting himself off. 

“I know I am,” the boy replied. Keith’s eyes shot up, a cringe creeping into his face. His eyes widened as the boy smiled at him, wagging his eyebrows as a laugh seemed to tumble out of his throat. Keith found his eyes glued to the boy as he turned away from him. His eyes followed the head of soft brown hair as the boy caught up with what Keith assumed was a friend of his. 

The tight feeling Keith had in his chest was replaced momentarily by a warmth that set a soft smile on Keith’s face as he trudged into his future. 

 

The crew of the Kerberos mission were gone. 

Lost. 

Presumed dead. 

The mission failed, reports said, due to pilot error. 

Keith was angry. And sad. And lost. And confused. Because Shiro was gone. Because there was something that the Garrison wasn’t telling them. Because Keith knew that Shiro would have done all he could to make sure that his crew survived. 

Because Shiro was the best pilot in Garrison history. 

He didn’t  _ make _ pilot’s errors. 

But Keith wasn’t sure where that left him. If Shiro was really gone, did Keith want to or really  _ need _ to become a pilot?

Even if Keith was just starting to enjoy his training. Even if Keith was starting to feel something for the boy with an easy smile and cheek warming laugh. Even if Keith was just starting to think that maybe this path he was on wasn’t so bad, what did that matter if Shiro was gone?

No matter what, he decided that he needed to uncover the truth. 

So the nights that he used to spend just at the fringes of the boy’s life, he now spent finding every clue he could about what had actually happened at the edge of their solar system. Keith knew it would only be a matter of time before he got caught. So when Iverson pulled him into his office and lectured Keith for the better part of an hour about how  _ disappointed _ he was, Keith had only one regret. 

He wished he’d said goodbye to the bright eyed boy he’d started to fall in love with. 

 

Keith had left the Garrison behind him. He let go of the friends that he would have made, of the affection that he would have nurtured if he’d stayed. The only connection to the academy he kept in the forefront of his mind was Shiro. 

He wasn’t prepared for his past to come barreling down on him all in one night. 

He was rescuing Shiro when all the feelings he thought he was getting over came crashing back in the form of a human whirlwind that marched up to him and refused to let Keith save Shiro by himself. 

Keith almost didn’t recognize the hardness in Lance’s face. 

And although the warmth was building in his chest once again, Keith let himself pretend that he didn’t remember. 

He didn’t let himself think about how Lance had been a nagging  _ what if _ for the past year. 

He only realized how grave of a mistake that was when they emerged at the other side of the wormhole.

  
  


Lance wanted to hate the universe. He wanted to hate the forces that brought him to the theater that night they were showing the Garrison’s space exploration ad. He wanted to hate the videos and articles that trickled into his sights, reporting stories about the youngest pilot in the history of space exploration. He wanted to hate the fates that aligned his dream with Keith’s. 

Most of all, he wanted to hate the goddess that oh so cruelly decided to mold some form of affection for Keith in Lance’s heart just days before Lance lost him. 

Lance didn’t know what the universe was trying to tell him when his path converged with Keith’s again a year later. 

He thought at first that it meant he was getting another chance. But it soon became clear that Keith didn’t remember Lance. Lance, who had always been just behind Keith in their examinations. Lance, who took every chance he could to get Keith to notice him. 

Now they were stuck fighting a war together. 

And Lance wanted to hate him. Truly, he tried to hate Keith for disappearing, for forgetting him, for giving up. It became clear that Lance could never hate Keith. Not when Keith’s confident smirks still sent Lance’s heart haywire. Not when Keith was the one who brushed his shoulder against Lance’s after a long battle and simply sat with him in silence. 

Not when Keith now sat across from him, asking why Lance hated him. 

“I don’t hate you,” Lance said, frowning. He pushed his goo around his plate. 

“Coulda fooled me,” Keith muttered. Keith sighed. “If you don’t hate me then why are we always fighting?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You could ignore me, you know,” he said. “We wouldn’t fight if you didn’t let yourself get riled up.”

He could see Keith getting frustrated at his logic. “Then why are you always trying to start something?” Keith asked, desperation clinging to his words.

Lance cleared his throat. “Because,” he started, “you were the star pilot back at the Garrison without even trying. And me? I had to put everything I had into our training.” His hand fisted around his spoon. “And you gave up on your dream, Keith.” Lance gritted his teeth. 

Keith stared at him mutely before scoffing. “My  _ dream? _ ” he asked. “Being a pilot was  _ not _ my dream. It was Shiro’s dream. One he thought I would naturally want too.”

Lance felt his temper boil up into his ears. “Good to know that I was always second to someone who didn’t even want first place,” he said, his voice hard. “Even if being a pilot wasn’t  _ your _ dream, Keith, it was mine. And you had everything going for you when you just up and left. You could have gone all the way, and you gave up!” he exclaimed. “How am I supposed to feel about that? How am I supposed to feel when I’m constantly reminded that I’m second-best to someone who didn’t even care?”

Keith stared at him, his jaw hanging. Lance felt his ears go red with anger and embarrassment. He stood up, his chair screeching against the floor, and left. He pretended not to hear Keith call out his name. 

He stormed into the castle’s observatory, angry tears threatening to break free. He plopped down, pulling his knees up to his chin. Burying his face in his arms, he willed himself to calm down. He felt all too familiar whispers flow into his thoughts. 

_ You don’t belong here. _

_ Who do you think you are? _

_ None of them  _ really _ like you. They’re just forced to tolerate you because you just happen to be a paladin.  _

_ You aren’t cut out for this. _

_ You should have just stuck with your soccer scholarship like Mom said. _

Lance’s breathing sped up. He slammed his eyes shut, forcing himself to count as he breathed. 

_ Seventh wheel _ .

Breathe in.

_ Replaceable. _

Hold that breathe.

_ Unworthy. _

Breathe out. 

A tear slipped down Lance’s face as he fisted the sleeves of his shirt. He brought his knees closer to his chest, curling up into himself. 

_ Go home. _

“No,” he whispered.

_ You’re alone. _

“No,” he repeated.

_ They’re better off without you. _

“No!” he said. 

Lance grabbed the fabric of his shirt that lay above his heart that beat erratically. He let out a sob as he told himself, “You are good enough. You are needed. They need you.”

Warm hands suddenly pulled him into an even warmer chest. They stroked Lance’s hair softly, their other hand making small circles on Lance’s shoulder as he sat in their lap.

“You’re amazing, Lance,” they whispered, their voice hoarse with a pain Lance had scarcely heard. “You are more than enough. We would be lost without you. Pidge probably wouldn’t get any sleep without you. Hunk would never have been able to find the courage to fight if you weren’t constantly showing him how brave you are--how brave he could be. Shiro and Allura would never get another opinion on what to do without you. You are there for Coran when he needs to miss Altea without burdening Allura.” He paused, and Lance felt his shaky breath as he rest his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“And I would have drowned in my own grief that year Shiro was gone if I didn’t have memories of your smile from the Garrison,” he said softly. “If you hadn’t barged in that night I was saving Shiro, I never would have made so many wonderful friends. Half the happiness I now have would be lost without you, Lance.”

Lance focused on Keith’s words as they settled in his mind. He pulled away slightly so he could look at Keith’s face, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Because Keith was looking at Lance like he was the only thing that mattered in the world. The little smile on Keith’s lips made Lance’s heart stutter. 

“So you did remember me from the Garrison,” Lance said softly. 

Keith’s gaze dropped bashfully. “Yeah, sorry about that.” 

Lance studied the arms that held him gently. “I guess I should apologize, too,” he said. “For pretending to forget the other time you cradled me in your arms.”

He dared a peek at Keith’s face. Keith was staring at him in shock. A smirk emerged just as Lance looked away. Keith nudged Lance in the side. “I guess we’re both pretty forgetful, huh?”

Lance nodded, avoiding Keith’s gaze. "I'm sorry I said all those things about how you left," he said. "It wasn't my place."

Keith shrugged. "Don't worry about it too much. You were kinda right. I did give up."

They settled into a comfortable silence. Lance's mind replayed Keith’s words. “Wait,” he said. “What did you mean when you said that stuff about me and your happiness?” Lance dared to look at Keith’s face. 

Keith swallowed. “I, uhm,” he stuttered, looking down. “I guess this has been a long time coming,” he said softly. Lance stared at him, wide eyed. “I guess you could say I had a crush on you while we were in the Garrison.”

Lance’s voice was hardly a whisper as he said, “Had?”

Keith looked up, his eyes bearing down on Lance. “Yeah, I had a crush on you,” he said, his voice firm with a conviction Lance only wished he could summon. “I have more than a crush on you now, Lance.”

Lance gripped the hem of his shirt as he stared into Keith’s eyes--eyes that were deathly serious. His mouth was dry as he croaked, “More than a crush?” Keith nodded. A tear slipped down Lance’s face as he leaned forward, resting his forehead on Keith’s shoulder. Keith’s hands tightened on Lance as he cried. 

“W-what’s wrong?” Keith asked after a few moments. “Is--if you don’t feel the same--”

“No!” Lance exclaimed, lifting his head. “No, I’m just surprised. And . . . happy.” He brought a hand up to Keith’s face, brushing his thumb against Keith’s cheek. “I just never thought you would ever feel the same way.”

“Then you mean?”

Lance nodded, a few more tears slipping free. 

“I love you, Keith,” he whispered. 

Keith’s eyes were filled with more happiness than Lance had ever seen in them before. Keith smiled his soft, perfect smile and leaned forward. He kissed Lance’s tears away gently as he whispered with each kiss, “I love you.” 

Lance took Keith’s face in both hands and pulled him forward into a kiss that filled every empty hole in his chest. 

Lance thanked every lucky star that brought him to this moment with Keith. Sure they had their imperfections, but Lance reminded himself that scars were proof that you had lived and survived life’s challenges. 

And sure, Keith had his own demons, his own scars, but Lance thought that those were just a few things that made up a whole list of reasons why he loved Keith. 

Maybe the two of them had a little more healing to get through, but no matter what, they had each other.

 

Keith had been right. Falling in love with Lance hadn’t just been easy. It was the most natural thing he’d ever done. 

**Author's Note:**

> i've noticed that i tend to write keith as a very soft, caring character. honestly i think he is naturally a quiet, caring dude. he just tends to fight with lance because lance pushed his buttons.
> 
> also the garrison ad is supposed to be like the WWII ads they'd show before movies (like in Captain America?). just in case anyone was confused as to what i meant
> 
> regardless, i hope you guys liked this!!


End file.
